How many people were saved aboard Noah’s Ark, according to the New Testament?
Answer
Eight people
According to the New Testament, eight people were saved aboard Noah’s Ark.
First Peter 3:20 refers to “eight souls” being brought safely through the Flood. The eight are Noah, his wife, their three sons, and the three sons’ wives. Genesis names Noah’s sons as Shem, Ham, and Japheth, while the wives are not named in the biblical text.
Genesis 7:13 describes Noah, his wife, his sons, and his sons’ wives entering the Ark. The New Testament provides the explicit total of eight people, making it the clearest source for the number.
This figure is separate from the animals. The Ark story describes the preservation of Noah’s household along with representatives of animal life, but it does not say that eight refers to all living creatures aboard. Later folklore gives names to Noah’s wife and the daughters-in-law, but those names are not supplied by Genesis.